'New stuff', picking up tricks and tips...

I've been asking lately – asking all my sailing buddies. 'Why DO you read sailing literature?' There were many answers – they liked dreaming about it when land-bound, they liked to 'know what was going on', or 'to look at beautiful boats', but the most commonly shared reason was that they liked to know about 'new stuff', to pick up tricks and tips that they wouldn't naturally get from their own sailing circle.

So in keeping with that thought, this week's edition is just packed with a wide variety of useful, up-to-date information.

One article tells what to check when the ten-year refit comes around, and John Jamieson is back with vital information about how to stop body heat loss in an overboard situation- information we all should have, but hope we'll never need.

Tech-savvy ex-Melbourne cruising sailor Neil Langford, now in Thailand, tells about a very simple way to view your boat's complete suite of instrument systems on your iPad with a $4.99 app.

Fire on board a sailing boat is not a pretty thought, so it's prudent to do all possible in advance to mitigate the danger, and there's an article offering many tips to achieve this.

Two articles revolve around learning from past incidents, both in American waters, but the message is the same. One is from a serious health incident on a two-handed boat entered in the Newport Bermuda Race last year, and the other about securing your boat during storms, lessons learned in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the worst on record as far as the USA boating community is concerned. Both make great reading.

Hurricane Sandy damage .. .

In other news, I have to agree with Cindy and John Curby in their story about surviving ex-cyclone Oswald while anchored off Moreton Island near Brisbane. They say their Manson anchor performed brilliantly. On our boat it's not a Manson, but a similar 'new-generation' anchor which absolutely transformed our cruising life when we changed from our CQR.

Then there's the tale of one high-life business type who gave it all up to sail 3,356 miles in a 19ft boat from London to Istanbul. He's never regretted what he gave up – in fact he's now planning another adventure. The featured yacht this week is the gorgeous Turkish-built Regina that figured in James Bond's latest 'Skyfall'.

Giacomo in Istanbul .. .

Finally, if you have to abandon your still-sound boat in order to save your own life, the tragedy of the loss of the boat probably pales into insignificance by comparison. But how lucky can you be if the Captain of the rescuing ship is a sailor himself and sets about getting that boat to sail on to Hawaii by itself? Read the incredible story that has won a ship's captain the 2012 Rod Stephens Trophy.

That's just the beginning, so roll down the headlines to find your interest, and...

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